


Professional Spirit Chasers

by chemically_imbalanced_romance



Series: Sanders Sides Spooky Month [2]
Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Death, M/M, Patton is an ghost so he's dead, Suicide, patton has the big sad but there's a happy ending
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-27
Updated: 2018-10-27
Packaged: 2020-03-20 01:18:56
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,439
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18982252
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chemically_imbalanced_romance/pseuds/chemically_imbalanced_romance
Summary: I… I don’t know what this turned into. Oh well.





	Professional Spirit Chasers

**Author's Note:**

> I… I don’t know what this turned into. Oh well.

“Roman, honestly, it’s not that hard, just hold the camera still.” 

“I’m trying!”

Logan rolled his eyes, looking at Virgil. “Let’s get this out of the way, yeah?”

He nodded. “Yeah.”

Logan made dead eye contact with the camera. “My name is Logan Sanders, I’m with my fiance Virgil, and we’re professional ghost hunters.”

“Spirit chasers,” Virgil corrected quietly. 

“Whatever.”

They stood in front of a nice-looking, two bedroom house, with blue walls and big windows. It was close to midnight. 

“Roman,” Logan said, “our less than talented cameraman today-”

“ _ Excuse _ me-”

“-reached out to us and offered to record one of our sessions to give him practice, and to prove that spirits aren’t dangerous at all. Now that introductions are out of the way, we’re going to pretend the cameras not there, because it makes me uncomfortable and it gives Virgil anxiety.”

“Lo, you’re rambling,” Virgil mumbled with a little smile. 

“Right.” He blushed. “Ahem. Let’s begin.”

As they walked up the drive, Roman rushed to keep up. “Uh, Logan? Mind telling them what we’re doing here?”

He sighed. “If I must.” He straightened up, grabbing what looked to Roman like a flat black box with an army green screen. “We’ve been contacted by the owner of the house that they believe a spirit is lingering inside. They’ve asked us to clear the spirit.”

Virgil wet his lips as they stopped outside the front door. “The, uh…”

“Speak louder, babe.”

He fumbled with his messenger bag. “The spirit,” he showed up a picture of a boy with peach skin and messy golden hair laughing while hugging what looked to be a stray cat, “is believed to be twenty two year old Patton Hart. He died two years ago, and lived here alone. It was ruled a suicide.” 

Logan spoke while Virgil unlocked the door. “My fiance will be contacting the spirit, while I monitor the equipment.”

Inside, it was mostly half-unpacked moving boxes, the only things set up being the couch and the entertainment centre. The television was off. 

“Hey, teach, you ever use Ouija boards?” Roman grinned while looking through the camera. 

“That’s a good way to get killed,” he said offhandedly, looking around. 

“Oh.”

“Spirits, are harmless. Ouija boards don’t invite spirits, though.” He looked at Roman with a glare. “They invite demons. We don’t use them.” 

They went into the kitchen- It was small and narrow, cabinets and counters on either side leading to the dining table in the back. 

“Temperature dropping,” Logan said, his eyes glued to his box thing. 

While Roman and Logan stayed in the doorway, Virgil ventured in, his gaze drifting around curiously. He looked almost ethereal, with his black lace dress, the sleeves coming down to his palms, the light glimmering across his makeup. Any time he remembered the camera, he got nervous, small, but he seemed content enough to get to know the spirit. 

“What’s he doing?” Roman asked. 

“Shut up,” Logan said.” 

They sat in tense silence as Virgil looked around, until he turned and said, “He’s not down here.” 

That was apparently a queue Roman didn’t understand- Logan moved to set all his equipment on the dining room table, and Virgil began inspecting every inch of the kitchen. He ran his fingers over a crack in the wall, closing his eyes. 

“Uh…” Roman zoomed in on his fingers. “What are you doing? Shouldn’t you be looking for the ghost?”

“Patton will come to us if he wants to.” Virgil straightened up, brushing down his dress. “He’s just like a person, we can’t force him into anything.” 

“What if he doesn’t want to leave?” 

Virgil squeezed past Logan to the other side of the kitchen, a gentle hand on his back. “We’ll talk with our client about what to do from there.” 

“Sometimes they insist we make them leave anyway,” Logan said, fiddling with a mic, “in which case we keep trying until the spirit agrees, or it’s time to stop. A lot of the times we’re able to come up with a compromise, though.” 

Virgil glanced at a stain on the wall, the wallpaper curling. “People are most often compassionate when given the choice.”

“If he leaves, where does he go?”

He shrugged. “Depends. Not everyone wants to pass. Sometimes they stay with us for a while while we find some family for them to latch onto, and they become a familiar. Sometimes they just want a quiet place to stay.” 

Roman looked at him over the camera. “Is he stuck here?”

Virgil looked at the camera nervously, and turned away. “Not really. He has to want to leave, or at least be okay with it. Like I said: We can’t force him to do anything.” 

“Verge,” Logan secured the mic in his belt and grabbed the box thing, “ready to go upstairs?”

“Yeah.”

Roman’s eyes widened. “No, no, no- Everyone who goes upstairs in horror movies ends up dead!” 

“Good thing we’re not in a horror movie.” Logan grabbed Roman’s shoulder and gently pushed him out of the kitchen. “Come on, cameraboy.” 

Upstairs, it was even more empty. They stopped in every room before Virgil stopped them in the master bedroom, the dresser and bed set up but otherwise everything was in pieces or boxes. 

“He’s in here.” 

Roman’s heart pounded as he whipped around to look at Logan. “What?” 

“Don’t look at me!” He snapped. “Point it at Virgil, this is his part.” 

Virgil sat at the edge of the bed, his eyes fluttering closed. “Patton? The lady who lives here asked us to talk to you. Am I speaking to Patton?” He opened his eyes and looked around. 

Two blue eyes stared at him from the cracked open closet doors. “Yes.” 

He smiled comfortingly. “Can you come out here, please?” 

Patton hesitated; The closet doors creaked open further as he stepped out, Roman gasping and turning to it. 

Patton, more or less, looked like he did in the picture, only much sadder and with rope burns around his neck. He wore pajamas with black cats all over them, his feet bare and his eyes swollen from crying. He looked sickly, like he hadn’t been eating. 

“Who’s he looking at?” Roman demanded, his face full of panic. “Who’s he talking to?!” 

“Aren’t cameramen supposed to be  _ quiet? _ ” Logan insisted, glaring. The more he spoke the harder it would be for Virgil to do his job. 

“What…” Patton’s voice came out hoarse. He coughed weakly. “What does she want?” 

Virgil bit his lip. “She wants you to leave.” 

Little sobs bubbled out of Patton’s lips- He buried his face in his hands as he weeped, Virgil’s heart breaking in his chest. Logan had to stop himself from going over to him, instead looking at the box in his hands. 

“Temperature dropping rapidly.” 

“Hey, Patton, look at me,” Virgil said softly. “Look at me. Can you follow my breathing?” 

“Ghosts need to breathe?!” Roman whispered. 

“I will send you out of the room!” Logan hissed. 

Patton peeked at Virgil through his fingers, and Virgil gently led him through a 4-7-8 rhythm until his breathing was steady again, his sobs dulled down to little tears tracking down his cheeks. 

He patted the spot on the bed next to him. “Come closer, let’s talk.” 

Patton sat next to him- Their knees would have been touching, but instead Patton’s dipped into Virgil’s. 

“You can see me,” Patton said in confusion. 

“I’m a medium. I want to talk.” Virgil pointed at he spoke, “That’s my fiance over there, and Roman’s an idiot.” 

“Uh!” Roman exclaimed, offended. 

Patton giggled, and Virgil grinned proudly. “Do you have any family we can take you to?” 

Just like that, his face faded back to sadness. “No,” he mumbled. 

He frowned. “No friends?” 

“No.” He ran his fingers through his hair, tugging. “Please- Please don’t make me leave,” he begged, starting to sob again. “I don’t want to be alone again.” 

“Patton,” he said gently, “the first thing you should know is that we can’t force you to do anything.” 

“Why is he telling him that?” Roman asked quietly. 

“He doesn’t want to have any unfair advantages.” 

“If you want to stay here, you can. But if she doesn’t want you here, and you stay anyway, she might leave instead. And people might not move in again. If you come with us, we can make sure you aren’t alone anymore.” 

Patton stared at the ground, looking defeated and upset. “...You promise?” 

“I promise.” 

Patton looked up at him, tears threatening to break loose in his eyes again. “If I try to hug you will I go right through you?” 

Virgil chuckled. “Probably. But not forever. You can work on it, build your strength.” 

“Okay.” He straightened up. “I’ll come with you.” 

____

Roman zoomed in way too close to Logan’s frustrated face. He sighed, pulling down his glasses to pinch the bridge of his nose. “Tell me again why Virgil decided to keep you.” 

Roman zoomed out. “This is live, I’ll have you know. You can’t hide how mean you are to me anymore!” 

“I don’t hide anything.” 

They were in the group’s new office, Logan sat on the maroon couch and trying to read. He tossed the book on the coffee table, sighing. 

“They want to know if you’ve found a place for Patton,” Roman said, sitting on the coffee table. 

“Yes, we have.” 

“Can I tell them, can I tell them?!” 

Logan stood, going to the kitchenette in the back to brew some coffee. “It’s beyond me why so many people care about such an odd job. All we do is help people relocate.” 

Roman groaned dramatically. “ _ God _ , specs, you just turned the  _ coolest job _ into the most  _ lame-sounding thing in the WORLD _ !” He followed him. “Can I please tell them?!” 

Virgil came down the stairs holding a bundle of folded up clothing. “Do you think this would fit Patton? Now that he’s moved in, I want to start getting him stuff, but it’s hard to measure a ghost when they’re still transparent.” 

Roman let out a whine. “I wanted to tell them!” 

Virgil zeroed in on the camera. “Oh my God, are you filming?” He covered his face, hissing, “Roman! You have to warn me!” 

“Babe, here.” Logan held up his Stranger Things mug. “Coffee.” 

Virgil grumbled to himself, setting the clothes down on the counter and taking the mug from him. “Thanks.” 

Logan wrapped an arm around his waist and kissed his head. “I’m sure the clothes will be fine. If they aren’t, we’ll just get something else.” 

“Is Patton gonna come on ghost hunting missions with us?!” Roman asked excitedly. 

“Spirit chasing,” Logan corrected. 

“I wouldn’t mind having some help, actually,” Virgil said, embarrassed. “Sometimes they’re a little hard to convince.” 

“If he wants to come, then sure.” 

Roman punched the air. “YES!” 

“Roman, put the camera down!” Logan snapped. “You’re going to break it, and Virgil needs a break.” 

“Whatever.” He shut off the camera, setting it on the counter. Logan tsked and moved it away from the coffee pot. 

Virgil blinked. “That’s not… How you should end a livestream…” 

“Does Patton like me?” Roman asked. 

Logan raised an eyebrow. “What?” 

“Verge? Huh? Does Patton like us?” He pouted. “You’re still the only one who can talk to him!” 

“That’s… Not really true. You can talk to him, he just can’t talk back. Well, he can, you just won’t hear it. Anyway, I’m pretty sure he likes everyone.” He brought the mug to his lips, downing half of it before setting it down and burying his face in Logan’s shoulder. 

“Virgil!” Patton called from upstairs, and Logan slammed his hands over his ears. “I think I broke something!” 

Roman flinched. “What the fuck was that.” 

“I see Patton’s getting his voice back.” Logan hesitantly straightened up. 

“Transparency, too. He’s working really hard. I’ll be up in a minute!” He pulled away, kissing Logan. “I gotta go.” 

He rushed upstairs, to the filming room. Patton was sitting on one of the bean bag chairs, in a baby blue gown and a flower crown made of sunflowers, a matching blue choker covering his scar. He had gained some weight back, and jumped up when he saw Virgil, smiling excitedly. 

“Virgil!” He bounced over to him, giggling. “Do you think we can get a cat? I’ve always wanted a cat!” 

“If you can convince Logan, sure.” 

“Hey!” He whined. 

“You’ll be able to talk to him soon.” He rested his hands on Patton’s shoulders; They sunk a little, then stayed put. “They heard your voice down here.”

Patton gasped. “Really?!” 

He shrugged. “Well. It sounded like white noise, but yes. They heard something.” He looked around curiously. “What did you break?” 

“Oh, yeah!” He pointed across the room, to the table in the corner that held a little pile of shattered glass and a puddle of something bronze. 

“Apple juice is my  _ favourite _ and it was  _ right there _ I just had to try!” He shrunk in on himself a little. “Please don’t be mad.”

“I’m not mad,” he promised. “I’m proud of you for trying. How far did you get?” 

“I held it a couple inches off the table.” 

Virgil’s eyes widened. “ _ Inches _ ?” 

He smiled, a little sheepishly. “Yeah!” 

“Patton, that’s great! That’s so much better than last time!” He squeezed his shoulders, before going over to the small closet in the corner. “Why don’t you go watch T.V. while I clean this up? Ro and Lo are downstairs.” 

Watching T.V. with someone was one of Patton’s favourite things to do while he was still getting his voice and body back. It was easy for him to turn the T.V. on, since he didn’t have to hold anything, just click it. On his worst days, it took him ten minutes to get it on. Everyone made sure to turn the channel back to the one he liked when they were finished so he didn’t have to fumble with the remote. 

Patton grinned. “Okay! Are we spending the night here?” 

Virgil nodded. “Lo and I want to get the video we shot yesterday edited and up as soon as we can. You can go with Roman, or come with us, in the morning.” 

He slipped out the room and happily bounded downstairs while Virgil got the cleaning supplies from the closet. When he and Logan decided to do this together, they didn’t exactly expect to adopt a ghost, or turn it into a paying job. But Patton liked them and, well, now they could do it full-time. All thanks to Roman. 


End file.
